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Home My Public Portal About040-1993 - SPECIAL ORDINANCE PROMULGATING A NEIGHBORHOOD POLICYORDINANCE NO. 40-1993 (As Amended By 2nd Reading Amendment, July 19, 1993) A SPECIAL ORDINANCE PROMULGATING A NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY WHEREAS the Greater Richmond Progress Committee has organized task forces for various studies and policy recommendations, and WHEREAS the Neighborhood Policy Task Force of said Committee has met over a period of months and submitted a recommendation for such a policy to the Common Council of Richmond, Indiana, and WHEREAS Common Council has reviewed said policy and determined that it is desirable to promulgate a Neighborhood Policy for Richmond, Indiana, NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the Common Council of Richmond, Indiana, that a Neighborhood Policy be promulgated as follows: I. PREAMBLE Neighborhoods are a significant part of the social fabric of our community. It is in neighborhoods that citizens confront challenges to the duality of their lives. If citizens are empowered to overcome these challenges, neighborhoods will be healthier, safer, and more comfortable places to live. Richmond will be stron9er if it empowers citizens to promote the health and well-being of its neighborhoods. Citizens must take more control over the well-being of their neighborhoods. They must be able to identify problems and resolve those problems with their own resources and resources beyond the neighborhood, including City or other appropriate governmental or non -governmental agencies. Through the adoption and implementation of this policy, the City of Richmond commits itself to take an active role in encouraging citizens to create and maintain effective neighborhood associations. H. DEFINITIONS A. A neighborhood is defined as a geographic area consisting of specific city blocks and bounded by distinct geographic features such as streets, rivers, and other physical characteristics. The geographic area will be determined by the citizens who choose to form a neighborhood association. It is not the intent of the City to arbitrarily determine the boundaries of a neighborhood. B. A neighborhood resident is defined as a citizen who resides in or is employed by a business entity, church, school or other organization whose principal location is the neighborhood. C. A neighborhood association is defined as any group of neighborhood residents which proclaims its commitment to neighborhood improvement and a willingness to identify problems and seek solutions to the problems faced by the neighborhood. This group should meet regularly and elect officers as needed. D. Neighborhood services are those considered necessary to ensure an adequate environment and quality of life of individual or corporate neighbors. Services may he provided by the neighborhood through its neighborhood association or the services may be made available from the City of Richmond. Neighborhood associations may seek services from other governmental or public boards, commissions, taxing units and utilities. Services may also be sought from Wayne County or Wayne Township, and from not -for -profit organizations. The City may actively support the neighborhoods in these requests even though the provision of services from such entities is not affected by the terms of this ordinance. E A neighborhood services center is a specific location within a neighborhood at which services determined by the neighborhood association will be available. A neighborhood service center will only be established at the initiative of the neighborhood association. There is no requirement or expectation that such a center be established in each neighborhood. Because the needs of neighborhoods will vary substantially one from another, there will be no predetermined list of services to be offered through the centers. F. The neighborhood services clearinghouse is defined as the office funded by the Common Council to assist citizens in forming neighborhood associations and providing assistance to such associations. III. PURPOSES A To acknowledge that neighborhoods and neighborhood associations are key components in the long-term effort to improve the quality of life in Richmond, B. To establish and maintain a satisfying quality of life for all Richmond citizens, C. To recognize neighborhood associations as the primary initiators of neighborhood improvement efforts, and D. To define the role of City government in the creation and empowerment of neighborhood associations throughout the City, wherever citizens wish to create them. W. CITY/NEIGHBORHOOD RELATIONS A The City intends that its relationship with the neighborhoods be one of partnership. This partnership will mobilize resources within the City and seek additional resources external to the City to find and apply solutions to problems and to make other improvements identified by neighborhood associations. B. The City encourages neighborhood residents to form such associations and will empower those associations once formed through the Department of Planning and Redevelopment pursuant to the recommendations of the Greater Richmond Progress Committee's Task Force on Neighborhoods. Said Department of Planning and Redevelopment will facilitate efforts to: 1 . Identify potential sponsors for associations and make City resources available to those sponsors for start-up purposes, 2. Utilize City departments, other governmental bodies, not -for -profit organizations, and businesses to generate interest in neighborhood associations, and 3. Create incentives for the establishment and maintenance of associations. C. The City recognizes that the newly established associations must have the tools for achieving success. Through the Greater Richmond Progress Committee's Task Force on Neighborhoods, the Department of Planning and Redevelopment will facilitate efforts to: Establish a neighborhood association training program to provide emerging association leaders with communications and organizational skills as well as essential information about the community, 2. Establish communication links between all governmental and non -governmental entities and the neighborhood associations to ensure a coordinated and cooperative approach to addressing neighborhood problems, 3. Support, promote and recognize neighborhood associations, and 4. Require consultation with neighborhood associations in the course of planning city - sponsored projects which affect the neighborhoods and encourage other governmental entities to consult with the associations prior to making decisions which significantly impact the neighborhoods. V. NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES CLEARINGHOUSE A Common Council will fund the operation of a Neighborhood Services Clearinghouse which will be run by a Board composed of representatives from all neighborhood associations. The Clearinghouse will provide a number of services including, but not limited to, the following: t . Maintain a resource center which would actively gather information relating to local neighborhoods, the experiences of other communities and neighborhood issues in general and provide information to the general public upon request, 2. Sponsor conferences, public meetings or other events relating to neighborhood issues or designed to assist neighborhoods in addressing problems or taking advantage of opportunities, 3. Act as an advocacy group on behalf of neighborhood associations providing spokespersons to address public meetings, social and service clubs, governmental, corporate or not -for -profit organizations on the subject of neighborhoods and their concerns, 4. Provide direct assistance to individual associations in start-up and sustaining activities, identifying resources for problem -solving and conflict resolution, working to establish or to improve linkages with service providers, and generally working to strengthen local associations, and 5. Provide regular training programs for new and continuing association leaders to ensure the continued vitality of the associations. V1. RESOURCES A As long as citizens understand and take advantage of their right to express concerns within the neighborhood associations, these associations will be in the best position to understand the problems and opportunities facing the neighborhoods. The associations are expected to identify problems and possible solutions and then undertake action to address them. The associations will utilize neighborhood resources whenever possible to address these issues. In many cases, however, resources from outside the neighborhood will be essential. B. Once an association has determined that it needs assistance in addressing an issue from a governmental or non -governmental office, it is encouraged to bring that request directly to the office in question. That assistance could take many forms, but may commonly be additional financial, personnel or equipment resources in excess of those available to the neighborhood. As appropriate, City offices will work with the neighborhood association in order to acquire those additional resources either from the City itself or from another entity. C; The unique character of problems faced by a single neighborhood may require the establishment of a neighborhood service center which would allow for a more efficient delivery of services to a neighborhood and a more coordinated delivery when several providers are involved. The establishment of such a center would come at the request of the neighborhood association and be agreed to by the service providers involved. Passed and adopted this day of 1993, by the Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana. dV'�Z+ ,President (Etta 4 Lundy) ATTEST. City Clerk (Norma Carnes) (� ram` �- PRESENTED to the Mayor of the City of Richmond, Indiana, this day of L ,1993, at 9:00 a.m. ,City Clerk (Norma Carnes) APPROVED by me, Roger Cornett, Mayor of the City of Ricomond, Indiana, this ` day of 1993, at 9:05 a.m. ,Mayor dv a g .1 ( r Cornett) NATTEST: 0,City Clerk (Norma Carnes) BACKGROUND INFORMATION ORDINANCE NUMBER: 49-1993 TYPE OF ORDINANCE: Special Ordinance PURPOSE: This ordinance which is a policy statement, was requested by David Fulton, Chairman of the Neighborhood Policy Task Force of the Greater Richmond Progress Committee. The ordinance should be referred to the Committee of the Whole. Ordinance No. 40-1993 is the first of many such policies to be presented to Council. AQ TED: May 18, 1993 DISPOSITION OF ORDINANCE O. RESOLUTION NO. y by Common Council Ordinance No. Lo . Donat McBride Parker Dickman Allen Hutton Resolution NoElstro Lundy Brookbank Date !g Susp. rules Ist read ------ ------ -------- Title only ------------- ------ - - Proof of-Publicaton ----- ..... -- ........ Seconded -------- Move to 2nd read .__........... - '------ ---. --- - Seconded Engrossment-------- t/ ---- ------ ------------ ......... ----- ---- -- ---- Seconded 3rd re ........_--- ----._ ---- ------ Susp rules ----- ---- -- ..._./ Seconded V � v � Passage ---- - --O R- ----- -- -----_ ----------- ----------- Resection f Date Passed COMMCTiEE ASSI NMENTS: Date Committee Commttee Hearing Date Reassigned to Council Agenda PUBLICATION - DATES: AMENDMENTS: COMMENTS: